I Am The Greatest – Three Things That I Learned from Muhammad Ali

“I am the greatest” A quote from a man who worked tirelessly to back up that statement. Today is Muhammad Ali’s birthday. While the world lost Ali a couple years ago, his legacy lives on and there is much to be learned from him. Here are three things that I learned from Muhammad Ali.

BE THE GREATEST AT WHATEVER YOU DO

Ali is obviously known as one of the greatest boxers in history. Chances are, the majority of people reading this aren’t pursuing a career in boxing. However, regardless of your personal goals, I guarantee that there is something to be learned from the legacy that Muhammad Ali left behind.

Most everyone knows that Ali said “I am the greatest” but a more interesting quote to me was when he said “I would have been the world’s greatest at whatever I did. If I were a garbage man, I’d be the world’s greatest garbage man. I’d pick up more garbage and faster than anyone has ever seen. To tell you the truth, I would have been the greatest at whatever I’d done.”

This is huge! Whatever your path is in life, are you working to be the greatest at what you’re doing? If not, why not? You have to adopt a non-negotiable mindset of greatness in whatever you do in life. Once you’ve decided to be great, you have to be dedicated to that mission. You have to commit to doing the work that will get you there.

KNOW YOUR VISION

Ali also said “What keeps me going is my goals.” I think this is true for anyone who has achieved something great. You must have a vision. You’ve got to know your goals. It’s the foundation on your journey to success.

YOUR VISION WILL CARRY YOU THROUGH THE PROCESS

“I hated every minute of training, but I said, “Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.” Pay now, play later! However you want to say it, you have to begin with the end in mind. You have to keep your end-goals alive as you work through the process. Anyone who achieves greatness has this in common! You have to start with your goals & your vision and keep those at the forefront of your mind while you work to get there.

You can’t cheat the process. You have to put in the work. It’s going to suck at times, but you can’t hang on to doing what feels good if you’re going to achieve greatness. Ali “hated every minute of training” but what made him the greatest is that he did it anyway. He stuck to the process. He kept his vision of being a champion alive in his mind and worked relentlessly until he got there.

These are just some of the biggest takeaways that I personally got from Muhammad Ali. I’d like to encourage you to read up on Ali. There are certain common traits shared by anyone who achieves greatness. To get there yourself, you have to study them and implement.